Land (2009)

Alone, adrift
Batted by the currents
I bob and float against my will

This ocean is tempestuous
And fraught with hidden peril
Your placid beach just out of reach
On the horizon unattainable

As I desperately cling to my longing desire
To once again be pulled to the safety of your strand
I battle, tired of fighting
All but prepared to drown
Lured to the peace
Offered by the abyss of forfeit

But mine has been a lifelong odyssey
And I have sought your coast from so far away
Thrown by turns far off course
And now within measurable distance
Of your alluring shore

I long again to feel your sand beneath my feet
To walk assured of the stable rule of land
To know that I can guide my own path
Instead of allowing
The forces of time and tide
To wash me whither they will

I envisage walking with my head high
Breathing the salty air of the love in which I struggle
Without fear of losing my life
In the grip of its surging power
My feet planted in your terra firma
With the frothy breakers lapping gently at my toes

I remember those long ago walks along your beach
In watercolor postcard recollections
Of a time in which I mastered the pull of the sea
And frolicked on your shore
And bathed freely in your love

I am exhausted
So weary of fighting for precious air
Dispirited by the tantalizing vision of your seaboard
I beg in vain for rescue
Knowing that your warm sands
Cannot extend your reach to pull me to your solace
Or even beckon me closer

Fueled by fantasy alone
Strengthened in nothing but reverie
I stubbornly pray God for the fortitude to survive
Not to abandon my hope after such a long struggle
To find the courage in my thoughts of time past
To feed the dreams of a future in which
I can again stand

Swells are taking over
And I am nearly spent
Alone, adrift
I now must inhale one last time
And furiously swim
To land